Bard

A Bard’s crushes tend to arrive at full volume. Before anything has happened, half their friends know, and the crush’s name has come up at every lunch since Tuesday. A quiet crush is close to impossible when feelings run strong and need saying.

That can be sweet, and it can get awkward. A friend may let it slip in front of the crush before the Bard was ready. The Bard can also spend a whole PE lesson, or a whole shift at work, reading meaning into one wave from across the room.

When a Bard does say it, the other person at least knows where things stand. If the answer is “maybe” or “I don’t know yet”, that answer belongs to the crush. The kind thing a Bard can do is leave it with them and wait.

A Bard on a first date tends to say “sorry, I’m nervous” out loud, and the other person relaxes. They ask questions, laugh easily and fill the gap when a story runs out. At the movies they whisper reactions. On the walk to get gelato afterwards, they want to hear what the other person felt at the sad part.

The cost shows in the quiet moments. The date might go still on the bench outside the cinema. A Bard may hear “this is going badly” when the other person was only thinking about the film. They can talk faster to fill it, then replay every word that night. With a partner, they want to share the good and bad bits of each day, in the order they happened.

Bards need a partner who says things out loud. A “had fun today” after a date can settle a feeling that might otherwise keep them up. So can a quick “we’re good” after an argument. They also need time with friends, and a partner who reads that as a threat can leave them boxed in.

The in-between is hard for them. An argument left unfinished overnight can feel like a whole night of not knowing. A partner who recharges alone may want quiet after a row, while a Bard wants to talk it through right now. They can agree on a time to come back to it, like after dinner or at lunch the next day. That lets the quieter one rest and tells the Bard when.